Can a person come back to faith after falling away? Hebrews 6:4-6 seems to indicate that this is not the case.

Let’s start by looking at what Hebrews 6:4-6 says: “It is impossible for those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, who have shared in the Holy Spirit, who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the coming age and who have fallen away, to be brought back to repentance. To their loss, they are crucifying the Son of God all over again and subjecting him to public disgrace.”

Involuntary vs. voluntary sin

Every sin is an act of unbelief because it is rebellion and fails to trust God’s Word. Everyone is born into this world with a sinful nature that is curved in on itself. We have an idol in our hearts: ourselves! That sinful nature displays itself in evil thoughts, words, and actions.

Sins fall into two categories: involuntary and voluntary. Involuntary sin refers to sins that we commit because of ignorance or weakness. The apostle Paul said, “Even though I was once a blasphemer . . . I was shown mercy because I acted in ignorance and unbelief” (1 Timothy 1:13). Jesus warned, “Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak” (Matthew 26:41). Sinners sin. Our sinful flesh does not want to fight against temptation. Sometimes we are not aware that something we do is wrong. We must pray with King David, “Who can discern their own errors? Forgive my hidden faults” (Psalm 19:12). Believers recognize their ignorant and weak condition and turn to the Savior for forgiveness and empowerment to fight temptation. And God does forgive for the sake of his Son, Jesus!

The other category is voluntary sin. These are sins that we commit deliberately and consciously. In other words, we know some act is contrary to God’s will, but we do it anyway. This is a much more dangerous type of sin, not because these sins are worse in themselves (“The wages of sin is death”) but because they are committed by a believer who knowingly despises God’s Word and is in danger of losing faith. Unrepentant sin is unforgiven sin, not because Jesus did not pay for it but because the believer has rejected that forgiveness by choosing sin over Christ. We refer to this as “living in sin.” Paul says, “If you live according to the flesh, you will die” (Romans 8:13). The writer to the Hebrews has a chilling warning: “If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left, but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God” (10:26,27). May this never be! Instead, we flee to the arms of Jesus for forgiveness and leave our lives of intentional sin behind. Voluntary sin is dangerous because it is faith-destroying!

The sin against the Holy Spirit

Which type of sin is Hebrews chapter 6 speaking of? Clearly, it is speaking of voluntary sin. However, there is some debate about whether this section of Scripture speaks of the sin against the Holy Spirit or warns against voluntary sin and where it leads.

Jesus said that there is no forgiveness for the one who commits the sin against the Holy Spirit. “Truly, I tell you, people can be forgiven all their sins and every slander they utter, but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven; they are guilty of an eternal sin” (Mark 3:28,29). This sin plainly goes beyond our natural resistance to the gospel. This is a sin against the Holy Spirit’s work, which is to bring us to faith. The sin against the Holy Spirit is the willful and persistent rejection of the gospel by hardened sinners who have been fully convinced of its truth. By the nature of this sin, faith is impossible. It is the final hardening against the gospel.

The natural question is, “Have I committed this sin?” The logical answer is that if you are worried about having committed this sin, you have not committed it! However, I remember asking my father about it when I was young, and he gave me that answer. I have a very sensitive conscience. I remember walking away, still worrying that I was not worried enough about having committed it. The best way to comfort others is to point them to Jesus, who paid for the sins of the whole world. That includes you and me!

It seems that Hebrews chapter 6 is speaking of the more serious sin against the Holy Spirit and not just a person who has fallen away from faith. The writer piles up terms to describe a person who is fully convinced of the truth of the gospel by the Holy Spirit’s work: “who have tasted the heavenly gift, who have shared in the Holy Spirit, who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the coming age.” He goes on to point out that such a person cannot be brought back to repentance because he or she is mocking Jesus’ sacrifice.

However, some translate these verses: “It is impossible for those . . . who have fallen away, to be brought back to repentance while to their loss, they are crucifying the Son of God . . .” In this case, the writer would be saying that people cannot come back to faith while holding on to their sin.

Either way, the sin against the Holy Spirit goes beyond simply falling from faith, and there is forgiveness for those who turn from voluntary sin.

A call to repentance

So can someone come back to faith after falling away? The answer is yes.

In the Smalcald Articles, Martin Luther uses King David as an example of a believer who had fallen away from faith (Concordia Triglotta, p. 491). King David lived in his sin for about a year while Bathsheba was pregnant and gave birth to a son. He described the horror of that time in his life in Psalm 32:3,4: “When I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. For day and night, your hand was heavy on me; my strength was sapped as in the heat of summer.” And yet, what brought David back to faith? It was the cutting message of the law from the prophet Nathan and the healing message of the gospel in his words: “The LORD has taken away your sin” (2 Samuel 12:13).

The sin against the Holy Spirit goes beyond simply falling from faith, and there is forgiveness for those who turn from voluntary sin.

The Bible encourages us to call back those who are trapped in sin and unbelief. “Whoever turns a sinner from the error of their way will save them from death and cover over a multitude of sins” (James 5:20).

Finally, just picture the father in the parable of the prodigal son as he watches for the son who abandoned him and waits for him to come to his senses (Luke 15:11-31). See the father’s joy when he sees his son coming home, how he takes him in his arms, kisses him, forgives him, and throws a homecoming party! This is the heavenly Father’s joy over his children when they come back home into his loving arms!

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Author: David Scharf
Volume 111, Number 08
Issue: August 2024